SCHOOL OF IRISH STUDIES P193 UCD ARCHIVES
[email protected] www.ucd.ie/archives T + 353 1 716 7555 F + 353 1 716 1146 © 2014 University College Dublin. All rights reserved ii CONTENTS CONTEXT Institutional History iv Archival History v CONTENT AND STRUCTURE Scope and Content vi System of Arrangement vii CONDITIONS OF ACCESS AND USE Access viii Language viii Finding Aid viii DESCRIPTION CONTROL Archivist’s Note viii iii CONTEXT Institutional History The School of Irish Studies was founded in 1969 as a summer school and in 1970 as a year-round school offering courses in Irish literature, history, politics and Irish culture. The School was initially associated with the travel bureau of USIT (Union of Students in Ireland) for administrative purposes. However, the commercial element to this arrangement was inconsistent with the academic aims of the School and the association ended in 1974 when the School was set up as a non-profit making company limited by guarantee. Throughout its existence the School was registered as a charity, received no government funding and relied totally on student fees. Any surplus was put back into the School to develop the library and other facilities. From 1972 to 1974 it was based in Harcourt Street. In 1976 the School became a tenant of the RDS and rented a portion of the premises Thomas Prior House in Ballsbridge. The student body was drawn primarily from North America and Canada. From the outset it sought to fill a gap for foreign students in the Irish third level education sector, offering a framework where credits could be accumulated and certified for use in the student’s home universities.